This invention relates to a self-contained, mobile pump system which can be conveniently placed adjacent a body of water such as an irrigation ditch, a canal, excavation or other body of water from which it is desired to remove water and discharge it to another position.
Mobile pump systems are well known and commonly used for pumping water from one place to another. These systems usually include an internal combustion engine mounted on a suitable carriage. These systems generally include an elongated conduit or discharge tube with a pump or motor mounted within the tube. In order to be capable of operation at various water levels, prior art mobile pump systems have used complex winch and pulley systems to adjust the angle at which the discharge tube is placed in the water. Examples of typical prior art mobile pump systems which use these complex pulley and winch systems include U.S. Pat. No. 3,008,422 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,070,135. These prior are devices, however, require complex rigging and have not provided the precise degree of control and easy operability that is desired in a mobile pump apparatus.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,070,135 employs a cradle carried by a pivotally articulated slide. The articulated slide in U.S. Pat. No. 4,070,135 is pivotable to allow the discharge tube to be submersed into the water at any desired angle. The cradle carries the discharge tube. The slide is slidable from one end of the mobile pump system to the other on guide bars which are inclined upward at a very small angle from back to front of the pump system. Thus, this system requires gravity to allow the discharge tube to descend along the guide bars and appropriately position the intake end of the discharge tube. If the mobile pump is placed, for example, on an inclined levy, however, gravity forces cannot assist the movement of the slide and the effectiveness and efficiency of this device are severely diminished.
The prior art mobile pump system requires both a pulley and a winch with appropriate supporting cable connections to be attached to the discharge pipe to control the gravity fall of the discharge pipe and slide along the inclined guide bars. The supporting cable from the winch and pulley may need to be disengaged and repositioned along the discharge pipe to support the weight of the submersible unit beyond the cart on which the unit sits if the weight exceeds the buoyant effect of the water. Moreover, the winch and pulley restraining system and cable positioning requirements of this device make the system difficult and cumbersome for one person to operate.